Week 4: The Good Stuff
Teddy, Teddy! - Sure, it's just the Falcons' defense, but Teddy Bridgewater looked more than pro-ready in his first full start in Minnesota today. He got some major help from new, cuddlier AP Matt Asiata, but he also played fearlessly with some big-time plays downfield to the tune of over 10 yards per attempt. I hope I don't jinx the guy as I seem to do to most teams and people I like these days, but isn't it about time the Vikings made things interesting at QB again? It'd be poetic justice for all the fuss over Johnny Manziel for the last 500 days or so.
The Giants? The Giants. - Here's to a team I can absolutely never figure out. Just when Eli looks befuddlingly down for the count, he drops four TDs on a Washington team that might have had a real upper hand on a short week. Manning looked like a deer in the headlights trying out new OC Ben McAdoo's system in Detroit during Week 1, but less than a month later, he's playing like he's known this system forever. The Giants' defense deserves a ton of credit too, notching six turnovers against suddenly hapless Kirk Cousins and friends. So maybe they're the real deal until they're not next week.
Nailed It! My Best Week 4 Prediction - I was very tempted to pick the Eagles over the 49ers this week given the way these two teams have played until now. Thankfully, I played it safe the one time that has paid off:
- It's very tempting to assume [the Eagles' wins and 49ers' losses] will continue, but you gotta believe luck tends to run out at some point - good and bad - and I think the Niners will get back to basics in their slow, physical style of play this time.
Week 4: The Bad Stuff
The Saints. All of Them - I don't want to talk about it.The Steelers' Last-Minute Implosion - Woe to Pittsburgh fans - I actually saw this one in real time, and it was karazee. In case you missed it, the Steelers were winning by 4 points with less than a minute to go. The Buccaneers were out of timeouts. All Pittsburgh had to do was punt it away and prevent the big play. Fail and fail. The punt was shanked and then the Bucs rattled off a 41-yard play in a matter of seconds, setting up Mike Glennon-to-Vincent Jackson on an unbelievable game-clinching gut punch to Steelers nation. I don't even like those guys and this hurt to watch. On the flipside though, kudos to the Buccaneers for gutting out an unbelievable win after being totally embarrassed on Thursday Night Football less than two weeks ago. It would have been much easier to hang a head in that final minute than try to make something out of it.
The Patriots' Bargain-Bin Roster - If Sunday night's shellacking wasn't enough for you, the Chiefs practically eviscerated a Patriots' team that hasn't looked this bad in a very long time on Monday night. Like the Saints, it's hard to pinpoint one thing the Pats are struggling with - the defense was out of step and missing tackles, Tom Brady was constantly under pressure and ultimately reduced to throwing wounded ducks into triple coverage. And there were all the turnovers, which are always hard to predict. Methinks New England's front office has finally spread its talent too thin. With the departures of Wes Welker, LaGarrette Blount, Aquib Talib, and Logan Mankins among others in the past couple of years, the Patriots have somehow created an even worse collection of spare parts this time around than they had last season. That's no way to treat a Hall of Fame QB on his way to aging out, and it may have cost this team greatly in 2014.
Shanked It! My Worst Week 4 Prediction - Did you know I wrote this on Opposite Day?
- Seeing as how Eli Manning already blew all of his good play on the Texans last week, it seems safe to assume he's going to be back to his old incompetent antics in DC tonight. This still has the makings of a close and fun-sloppy game, but Kirk Cousins walks in as the more reliable quarterback.
Week 4 Feature: Teams I'm Buying and Selling
Now that the preseason smoke has sufficiently cleared and every team has faced the good, the bad and the ugly, it's time to update our theoretical stocks.Teams I'm Buying:
- New York Giants - What a difference a couple of weeks can make. As I mentioned above, Eli Manning is starting to look more at home in his new offensive ecosystem, and it helps that he finally has some running backs and receivers to help carry the load. Knowing the Giants' cycle of competence/incompetence, this is technically their year again, and considering the lucky bounces the Eagles have had to stay on top to this point, the Giants may be a worthy NFC East contender.
- Detroit Lions - Given that I put the Lions at 6 - 10 this season, all I can do is buy with Detroit - they're sitting at the top of the division with an incredibly balanced roster that looks right up there with the Cincinnati Bengals. Heck, the whole North is a monster with the Vikings showing real signs of life on offense post-Adrian Peterson. If Detroit's defense continues to play this way though, I'm no longer that concerned with these guys having to outgun Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler.
- Houston Texans - I'll continue to be wary about the Texans as long as Ryan Fitzpatrick is trusted to do things, but by Kanye if these guys still don't win a ton of games because of that defense. Case and point - J.J. Watt hauling in an 80-yard interception to ice the Bills in the third quarter (who would have otherwise won, by the way). In a place as unstable as the AFC, even the Texans coming off a 2 - 14 disaster in 2013 have a chance.
- New Orleans Saints - Yes. I jinxed this team by projecting them at 12 - 4 and an NFC Championship appearance this season. Last year's defense was just too good to be true, and the Saints have lived up to every stereotype of being awful on the road, which means they could easily go 8 - 8 this year. Heck, they've gone 8 - 8 in their past 16 games. The NFC South is looking bad enough that New Orleans might still have a shot at something more than they deserve, but I ain't buying it. See? Zen.
- Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons have been a rollercoaster ride to be sure this year, but they are in real trouble on their offensive line already this season. By the end of Sunday's game in Minnesota, Atlanta was down to its tight end (whose name is not even worth Googling to spell right now) playing right guard. The defense has struggled against everyone but the Buccaneers so far this season. That all points to Matt Ryan having to be very one-dimensional like last year--and scoring major points for the yet-to-be-defeated Lady Blitz fantasy team.
- Buffalo Bills - I jumped too late onto the "buy" train for these guys, and now it's time to jump right back off, even if the train hasn't come to a complete stop yet. To give some credit, the Bills' defense hasn't missed a step with Mike Pettine and Jairus Byrd skipping town and Kiko Alonso out for the season. But it's just not enough to carry E.J. Manuel forward 3 weeks out of 4. He's pretty rough away from home too. And Kyle Orton ain't the answer.
- Dallas Cowboys - Are the Cowboys for real? It's still hard to say at this point given that the opponents they've beaten this season (Titans, Rams, Saints) may just be really bad. For the millionth time in recent years, the NFC East looks like it's set up for another Week 17 photo finish, and the Giants and Eagles bring their own formidable strengths to the table. If Dallas can play the way they did this week against, say, the Seahawks, Giants and Cardinals coming up, I might just buy 'em.
- New England Patriots - There's no denying last night was ugly for the Pats. It's fair to say this team's offense is at an all-time low in the Tom Brady era with question marks all over the roster. BUT when you look at the rest of the division and the AFC, New England can afford a slower start than some teams and hasn't been afraid to dabble in mid-season trades in the past. The Patriots were able to do something with nothing last year, so who's to say they can't turn things around with Brady and Belichick by December? If so, I might not sell 'em.
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